Robinson's Ferry

The bronze prices a person and a mule the same. Fifty cents for each passenger, horse, jenny or other animal is what John Robinson and Stephen Mead charged at the Stanislaus crossing they opened in 1848. Harvey Wood bought in during 1856 and his family held it until 1911. The camp that grew around the landing took the ferry's name, became Melones in 1902, and both the crossing and the town now lie under New Melones Lake, filled from 1978. The plaque casts CENTENNIALS, plural.

What the plaque says

ROBINSON'S FERRY STATE REGISTERED LANDMARK NO. 276 IN 1848 JOHN W. ROBINSON AND STEPHEN MEAD ESTABLISHED FERRY TRANSPORT FOR FREIGHT, ANIMALS AND PERSONS ACROSS RIVER. IN 1856 HARVEY WOOD PURCHASED INTEREST AND LATER ACQUIRED PROPERTY WHICH WAS MAINTAINED BY WOOD FAMILY UNTIL 1911. CHARGES WERE 50 CENTS FOR EACH PASSENGER, HORSE, JENNY OR OTHER ANIMAL. MARKER PLACED BY CALIFORNIA CENTENNIALS COMMISSION. BASE FURNISHED BY ANGELS CAMP LIONS CLUB DEDICATED MAY 22, 1949

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Columbia State Historic Park — 6.4 mi
  The Gem of the Southern Mines, still open for business on a car-free Gold Rush main street.

More markers nearby

• Carson Hill — 1.3 mi
• Archie Stevenot — 1.3 mi
• Mark Twain Cabin — 2.3 mi
• Tuttletown — 2.7 mi